In the first-ever Summit on Working Families, President Obama came forward as an advocate for working parents, vowing to make working conditions in the United States more conducive to raising kids.

“When members of our workforce are forced to choose between a job and their family, something’s wrong,” the President said in an op-ed released from the White House, which appeared in the Huffington Post.

The summit, held at the White House on Monday, June 23, featured an impressive variety of panelists. Sure, we heard from the inspiring powerhouses like Michelle Obama, Nancy Pelosi and CEOs like Alex Gorsky (Johnson and Johnson). But there were also 60 employers from companies of all sizes that have been recognized for creating “effective and flexible workplaces.”

Flexibility seems to be the number-one thing President Obama called for on Monday. If parents need to take “a few hours off for a school play or to work from home when [a] kid is sick,” they should be able to. But the President noted that flexibility isn’t always just a matter of a few hours. The obvious example? Maternity leave. The United States is the only developed nation in the world that doesn’t mandate paid maternity leave. The less-obvious examples? All different sorts of family leave issues, like taking extended time off to care for a disabled child or aging parent.

To combat these issues, President Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum directing federal government agencies to expand access to flexible work schedules. He credited businesses, like JetBlue and Google, who are already providing flexibility for employees. He directed Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez to allocate $25 million towards childcare for people who need to attend job training. Mr. Obama also called for Congress to to raise the national minimum wage to $10.10, and to pass the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.

Let’s pause right here. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act aims to eliminate workplace discrimination when a woman’s day-to-day job tasks are limited by pregnancy. Think: the horror stories you’ve heard of pregnant women being fired for taking too many bathroom breaks — that would no longer be permissible. Here’s the thing; according to GovTrack.us –which tracks the progress of bills in Congress — the bill only has a 1 percent chance of actually getting passed.

Will the President’s call to action increase the success of the bill? Critics are worried that the whole Summit is just a lot of talk, albeit nice talk. Either way, something to keep in mind is that the Obamas can actually identify with the struggles of working parents. Michelle Obama related the story of her job interview at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Mr. Obama was away and she had no babysitter, so baby Sasha came on the interview too.

“I thought, look, this is who I am. I’ve got a husband who’s away. I’ve got two little babies. They are my priority. If you want me to do the job, you’ve got to pay me to do the job and you’ve got to give me flexibility,” the First Lady said, adding that it was probably the worst time of her motherhood.

The Obamas admit that they were lucky. It worked out, and Michelle became one of the hospital’s vice presidents. But not all employers would be so understanding. That’s something that’s got to change.

What do you think has to happen to make the workplace more fair for families?

I was all set to take my 6- and 3-year-old sons with me to vote today. What a great way to set an example! Let them see democracy in action! Then my husband, who had headed to the polls on his way to work, texted me to say he was still in line and had bumped into everyone we know. And then I ran into a neighbor who said she had waited an hour and a half to vote.

Suddenly my patriotic parental intentions evaporated. I think it’s fantastic so many people are voting in this election, I really do. Exercise those rights, people! But 90 minutes on line with an energetic 3-year-old?! In front of everyone we know?! I vote no.

On the way to the sitter’s to drop off the kids before I headed to the polls, we had a lively political discussion.

6-year-old Miles: “Are we allowed to vote, too, Mom?”

Me: “No, you have to be 18.”

Miles: “Or older, like you?”

Me: “Yeah. Or older.”

3-year-old Riley: “I wanna vote!”

Miles: “Who would you vote for, Riley?”

Riley: “Santa Claus!”

Miles: “No, Riley, this is serious. We learned about it at school. Your choices are –“

Riley: “Underpants!”

Miles: “Riley!! Listen! You can vote for –“

Riley: “Pepperoni!”

Miles: “No, your choices are Barack Obama or Mitt Romney. Got it? Either Barack Obama or Mitt Romney gets to be president. So who do you choose?”

Riley: “Mitt ‘Bama!”

And there you have it, people. The children — the future of our great country — have spoken. I have to admit, though: Santa Claus seems like a pretty solid choice.

Did you bring your child along to vote today? How do you talk to your kids about the election?

In an interview with Cleveland’s z107.9, (which started off politically focused but somehow veered off course), when asked, “What does the POTUS talk to Jay-Z and Beyonce about?” the President answered:

“We talk about the same things I talk about with all my friends. We talk about kids. They just had a new baby and they’ve got a new daughter, and I made sure that Jay-Z was helping Beyonce out and not leaving everything to mom and the mother-in-law.”

Still unsure who you’ll vote for on November 6? Learn where Barack Obama and Mitt Romney stand on issues that matter to moms.

EMPLOYMENT

President Barack Obama stands for better pay for all, and equal pay for women. In 2008, he set a goal to increase the federal minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $9.50 per hour by 2011, which he was unable to achieve. As for equal pay, the POTUS signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act in 2009, which aimed to give women more time to file wage-discrimination lawsuits. He also supported the Paycheck Fairness Act, which sought to make it easier for women to prove wage discrimination. This act has yet to clear both houses of Congress and was rejected for the second time by the Senate in June. He also hopes to create more employment opportunities by bringing jobs back to America, as opposed to shipping them overseas.

Former Governor Mitt Romney has yet to take a stance on the issue of equal pay. In most statements, he says he supports what he refers to as “pay equity” but believes there needs to be more jobs first. He hopes to create open markets and expand free trade with foreign countries, which would allow Americans to participate in more business opportunities. In addition to making changes at the civilian level, he also plans to make some adjustments at the federal level. He plans to reduce taxes, spending, regulation and government programs in hopes of improving the economy and creating more jobs.

EDUCATION

Romneythinks there needs to be better — not more — teachers in the schools in order to improve America’s academic performance. Romney wants schools to recruit the best candidates and then evaluate the teachers to make sure they continue to meet educational standards. He is also a firm proponent of standardized testing, and as governor of Massachusetts, he required high school students to pass a standardized test to graduate. That being said, he doesn’t feel education is something that can be handled at the federal level; rather, it should be handled state-to-state. His biggest proposal for public education, however, deals with disadvantaged and disabled students. If elected, Romney would allow these students to enroll in a public school outside of their district to better suit their needs. The federal government, using money that’s currently distributed through Title I and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, would subsidize the tuition.

Obama feels schools should be rewarded for high performance. During his term, he implemented Race to the Top, an initiative that awards points to states whose schools satisfy reform criteria, such as implementing innovative performance-based standards, complying with nationwide standards, promoting charter schools, and attracting and keeping good teachers. Since Race to the Top was launched, 46 states have come up with comprehensive reform plans, 34 of which have modified their laws. Obama also acknowledges that there is not one plan that fits all schools. Because of this, he has given states the flexibility to create their own ambitious plans for reform, relieving them of restrictive No Child Left Behind mandates.

LGBT RIGHTS

Obama made history in 2012 as the first sitting president to publicly announce his support for marriage for same-sex couples. The POTUS has also been very active in helping the LGBT community achieve equal rights. In 2010, he signed the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. The following year, he announced his support for the Respect for Marriage Act, legislation that would allow married same-sex couples the same federal rights and protections as straight couples, such as Social Security benefits, hospital visitation and medical decision making.

Romney has said he supports equal employment rights for members of the LGBT community. He also does not have a desire to reverse the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. However, he believes marriage is an institution between a man and woman, and should stay that way.

HEALTH CARE

Romney has had some experience with health care reform too. During his time as governor, he passed the Massachusetts health care insurance reform law. This law required nearly every resident of Massachusetts to obtain a state-regulated minimum level of health care insurance coverage. Residents earning less than 150 percent of the federal poverty level were also required to receive health care insurance at no cost. Romney believes that health care should be dealt with at the state level and would want to repeal many elements of Obamacare to make this happen. However, he has also said that if he’s elected, some sort of provisions that provide coverage for Americans with preexisting conditions and that extend family policies for adult children will be included in his plan.

Obama made health care the main focus of his 2008 campaign. Two years later, he implemented the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act (also known as Obamacare), which will expand coverage to over 32 million Americans by the time it’s scheduled to go into full effect in 2014. The provision of the law requiring free coverage of contraceptives, breastfeeding supplies and screenings for gestational diabetes, sexually transmitted infections and domestic violence, as well as routine checkups for breast and pelvic exams, Pap tests and prenatal care, went into effect in August. This new mandate applies to almost 47 million women in the US.

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS

This January, Obama reaffirmed his commitment to a woman’s right to choose on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. In a statement on the issue, Obama noted that the ruling “not only protects a woman’s health and reproductive freedom, but also affirms a broader principle: that the government should not intrude on private family matters.” Around the same time, the Obama administration also announced that, with the exception of churches and other places of worship, all employers must provide full birth control coverage to female workers.

While some have said Romneyis completely pro-life, he says it’s not that simple. In an August 2012 interview with CBS, the Republican nominee clarified his stance on the issue, saying he is “in favor of abortion being legal in the case of rape and incest, and the health and life of the mother.” He has, however, pointed out that he would want to remove federal funding for Planned Parenthood, as it provides abortions for reasons he does not consider right.